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Monday, January 30, 2012

Cold Weather Lving: Sleeping Warm

For this post in the series on cold weather outdoor
living, I’ve decided to address a vitally important topic—sleeping warm. If you aren’t sleeping warm, you will
struggle to rest well, and proper rest is crucial for recovering from the
exertion and cold challenge you put your body through during the day.

Start with a warm sleeping bag. When you first get into your frigid sleeping
bag in the evening, take a moment to wildly flail your limbs about for a
bit. The movement will generate body
heat, quickly warming your sleeping bag, making for a toasty evening cocoon.

Sleep on a warm bed.
I prefer to use a two-pad system for cold weather camping, and will take
the extra weight even if I’m backpacking unless I need to go really light. The benefits I get in my sleep are well worth
it to me. On the bottom I use a Therm-A-Rest Z Lite foam
pad to insulate from the cold ground.
The closed cell foam will also not soak up moisture that is bound to
accumulate in a frozen, snow-covered tent.
On top of this I use a Therm-A-Rest Trail Lite lightweight air mattress. This provides additional insulation, keeping
me warmer, is not in direct contact with the wet floor of the tent, and also
adds some extra comfort to the equation.

Keep your sleeping bag warm all night. If you’re having trouble maintaining warmth
in your bag as the temperatures dip in the early morning hours, it might be
worth the weight and expense to use a body warmer or two in your sleeping bag. A good body warmer lasts up to 18 hours
(which means it will still be warm when you’re fumbling to light the stove in
the morning) and pumps out tons of heat.
If I’m not careful, often I’ll toss one in my sleeping bag and wake up sweating. It’s not something I use every night, but
it’s a good trick to have up your sleeve.

Stoke the fire in the middle of the night. Your body is your furnace, and calories
(especially fats) are its fuel in cold weather.
If you wake up shivering, “put a log on the fire” by eating a bit of
high-fat food before going back to sleep.
I stash a small quantity of chocolate or cheese near the head of my
sleeping bag for just such an occasion.
I’ve also known folks who take shots of olive oil at night or put half sticks of
butter in their hot cocoa before bed. Do
whatever it takes to keep the furnace going throughout the night.

Sleep in your clothes.
A bundle of clothes makes a great pillow at night, but don’t forget that
clothes also do wonderful things to keep you warm when they’re on your
body. Anyone who perpetuates the myth
that sleeping in less clothes keeps your warmer has obviously never actually
slept outside. If you’re cold, don’t be
afraid to throw on that puffy jacket, extra hat, or even liner gloves. You’ve got the clothes; you might as well use
them. I tend to change any necessary
clothes in the relative warmth of the evening, sleep in most or all of my
clothes, and then wake up dressed and ready the next morning. This not only saves time but also ensures
that I’m in all my layers, already warmed by my body heat, for the coldest part
of the day. Be careful about chafing
during the night, as a bit of broken skin or a rash can turn into big trouble
if left untreated. Well-made outdoor
garments tend to have intelligently-placed seams to avoid this issue when
sleeping in your clothes. For example, Patagonia Capilene base layers
are stitched with no seams in the arm pit, a place I’ll commonly chafe when
sleeping in other clothes.

Sleep synthetic.
Don’t get me wrong, I think down sleeping bags are great things—they
pack well, and the warmth-to-weight ratio is incredible. However, if you’ll be out for more than a
night or two, rest assured that everything in your tent will slowly start to
soak through. Because your body is warm
and your breath and sweat are both wet, any items in your tent or in close
contact with your body will absorb a bit of moisture. Over time, this moisture build-up will
drastically reduce the effectiveness of your down. Synthetics, however, are not as severely
affected by moisture build-up and also dry more readily.